Shelf Talk

  • Women in Translation

    Women in Translation

    August is Women in Translation Month, an annual tradition that started in 2014 and seeks to celebrate and promote the work of women writing in languages other than English around the world. Consider reading one of these works of translated fiction by a female author. To Go on Living by Narine Abgaryan was originally written… Continue reading

  • New Nonfiction Roundup – October 2024

    It’s peak publishing season and October’s nonfiction releases will be in demand. Check out these top picks for the month. In biography and memoir, the wilds of Graceland are the setting for Lisa Marie Presley’s memoir From Here to the Great Unknown (completed by her daughter Riley Keough following Presley’s death in 2023). Stanley Tucci… Continue reading

  • A Peek at Peak Picks – October 2024

    We’re adding fourteen new Peak Picks in October! In fiction, Hugo Award-winning author Nghi Vo introduces a beguiling fantasy city in the tradition of Calvino, Mieville, and Le Guin in the new standalone novel The City in Glass;  legendary storyteller Alan Moore introduces the first book in an enthralling new fantasy series about murder, magic, and madness in post-WWII… Continue reading

  • New Nonfiction Roundup – September 2024

    We’re back! We took the summer off but are ready to resume our list of notable nonfiction books arriving in September – in addition to our stellar line-up of Peak Picks. We’re kicking it off with cookbooks, including two from celebrities: Dolly Parton teams up with her sister Rachel for a year of meals, friends… Continue reading

  • A Peek at Peak Picks – August and September 2024

    We’re adding fourteen new titles to Peak Picks over the next several weeks! In fiction, In fiction, Danzy Senza delivers a brilliant dark comedy with Colored Television, about love and ambition, failure and reinvention, and the racial- identity-industrial complex; from Rachel Kushner comes Creation Lake, about a seductive and cunning American woman who infiltrates an… Continue reading

  • Book Bingo NW 2024: In Translation

    This summer, check out a book in translation! Translated works allow the reader to find new stories and perspectives, delving into another viewpoint or geography through language and story. To fill the In Translation square on your Seattle Public Library #BookBingoNW2024 board, check out the titles suggested below, or find 25 more on this list:… Continue reading

  • Book Bingo NW 2024: One Big Book

    Book Bingo NW 2024: One Big Book

    It’s time to read that daunting book. The big one. The good news: it will fill up two squares on your Book Bingo. As a few suggestions for you, I’ve provided a smattering of different genres. Hopefully one of them will appeal. For even more suggestions check out our booklist Book Bingo NW 2024: One… Continue reading

  • Book Bingo NW 2024: Suggested by an Independent Bookseller, Third Place Books

    Spencer Ruchti, Author Events Manager for Third Place Books, offers suggestions to fill your “Suggested by an Independent Bookseller” square – and more – for Book Bingo NW 2024. Of Cattle and Men by Ana Paula Maia, translated by Zoë Perry Of Cattle and Men lays bare the brutal labor of the slaughterhouse trade—a bit… Continue reading

  • Book Bingo NW 2024: Sky Creatures

    Are you ready for dragons and birds and creatures that FLY? Check out these titles from the #BookBingoNW2024 Sky Creatures list! This was one of our top requested categories from staff and participants and we are thrilled to offer several suggestions. Spread your wings and try something new! Conversations With Birds by Priyanka Kumar –… Continue reading

  • Book Bingo NW 2024: Young Adult

    As a former teen librarian, I firmly believe that young adult books can (and should!) be enjoyed by people of all ages. I was so excited to see Young Adult as a category on this year’s Book Bingo and am thrilled to share some of my recent favorites that I think will appeal to teen… Continue reading

  • Book Bingo 2024: LGBTQIA+ Poetry and Essays

    “…and when we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard nor welcomed but when we are silent we are still afraid” Excerpt from “A Litany for Survival” by lesbian poet and activist Audre Lorde Fiction is a powerful method for sharing the joys and struggles of the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,… Continue reading

  • Book Bingo NW 2024: Something that scares you

    Most people think of October and its howling autumnal winds when they think of scary stories, but summer is actually the perfect time to cool off with some shivers up your spine. Whether it be reading about a summer camp slasher, books bound in human skin or a dystopian surveillance state, you are sure to… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2024 Starts Today 

    Ready, set, READ! Welcome to the tenth annual Book Bingo, Seattle’s finest reading challenge! Brought to you by Seattle Arts & Lectures and The Seattle Public Library, with support from The Seattle Public Library Foundation and Friends of The Seattle Public Library. Every year, local artists design our Book Bingo boards. This year we have… Continue reading

  • Cottagecore – Three Variations on an Aesthetic

    Cottagecore – Three Variations on an Aesthetic

    What do you envision when you hear the term “cottagecore”? Perhaps its lush country gardens, fresh baked bread, and dreamy cotton clothes. Or maybe just a simple back-to-nature aesthetic that is wistful and romantic. Here are three takes from three library staff on Cottagecore to fuel your inspiration. Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore has lush… Continue reading

  • Dear Reader, Try a Historical Romance

    With the latest season of Bridgerton premiering on May 16, I’m all-in on historical romance, including the Regency era that Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes brought to the screen. For historical romances that flip the script on race, gender, sexuality, or feminism in the vein of Bridgerton, check out these options, sure to be the… Continue reading

  • New Fiction Roundup, May 2024

    Start planning your summer reading with this varied and compelling slate of new fiction titles coming in May! And don’t forget to check out our May Peak Picks offerings. 5/7: América del Norte by Nicolás Medina Mora Sebastián grew up wealthy and privileged in Mexico before coming to the US to attend an elite school… Continue reading

  • Teen Fiction for Mental Health Awareness Month

    Teen Fiction for Mental Health Awareness Month

    This month, we offer a variety of stories about teens facing mental health challenges, ranging from depression and suicidal ideation to anxiety and self-esteem issues, and learning that their condition does not define who they are. In Ab(solutely) Normal: Short Stories That Smash Mental Health Stereotypes, sixteen authors create a variety of stories about teens… Continue reading

  • New Nonfiction Roundup – May 2024

    George Stephanopolous recounts the inside story of 12 presidents during moments of crisis, from JFK to Biden, in The Situation Room while historian Jon Meacham reflects on the life of George H.W. Bush in The Call to Serve. Former White House Press Secretary and current MSNBC host Jen Psaki shares lessons from work, the White… Continue reading